The NHL labor talks continued in earnest yesterday in New York, starting at midmorning when the NHL Players’ Association put forth its latest proposal and resuming shortly after 8 p.m. when the NHL responded to the union’s offer.

The evening meeting still was going after midnight, all the while under the threat of the union dissolving itself.

The union had until midnight to file a “disclaimer of interest” with the U.S. National Labor Review Board, clearing the way for a series of antitrust lawsuits that could strip the league’s rights to control salaries and contract terms — essentially all the parameters a collective-bargaining agreement sets.

The deadline passed without the union announcing whether it had filed. If the union chose to go that route, the likelihood of another canceled season would increase dramatically, as the matter could end up in a protracted court struggle. The NHL also wiped out the 2004-05 season because of a lockout.

The disclaimer would not necessarily derail negotiations and lead to the cancellation of the season, although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suggested as much last month. The NBA players union filed a disclaimer of interest last fall and, 12 days later, reached an agreement with the league.

As part of the union’s offer earlier in the day, it has agreed to a 10-year collective-bargaining agreement with a mutual option to end it after eight years. Previously, the players had wanted only an eight-year deal.

The sides reportedly spent much of the day negotiating player pension funds. This topic was thought to be settled in December, but, apparently, there was a misunderstanding on one side of the table.

The union also is asking for a higher salary-cap figure for 2013-14 and beyond than the league offered — $60 million — with its most recent proposal. At that figure, the salary cap would be more than $10 million less per team than it would have been this season under the previous agreement, and a handful of clubs — Boston, Minnesota, Vancouver — have promised more than $60 million in salary.

The league has dismissed the union’s threat to decertify. Instead, they have worked off their deadline of Jan. 11 for getting a new agreement signed. In that scenario, the league would open training camps on Jan. 12 and the regular season on Jan. 19.

So far, the league has canceled all games through Jan. 14, including the Winter Classic outdoor game and the NHL All-Star Game, which was to be played at Nationwide Arena.

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